Dwigiit d



(No Model.)

D. D. BOOK. BOND FOR ELECTRIC RAILWAYS. No. 526,142. Patented Sept. 18, 1894.

NITED STATES PATENT Fries,

. DWIGHT 1). BOOK, OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK.

BOND FOR ELECTRIC RAILWAYS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of LettersPatent No. 526,142, dated September 18,1894,

Application filed July 14, 1894.

of Brooklyn, county of Kings, and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Bonds for Electric Railways, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to bonds for electrically connecting the rails inan electricrailway system. p

The object of the invention is to improve the contact at the junction between the bondconductor and the rails, and to prevent disconnection or variation of resistance by loosening during service.

Various methods have heretofore been devised for improving the conductivity of the rail or rails which constitute one side of the electric circuit supplying motors of electrically propelled cars or vehicles. In the methods commonly employed, there are two great difficulties which detract from the efficiency of the bonds, one of which is that they are increase the area of the joint to any desired apt to work loose by the movement or vibration of the rail ends, due to the transitof the cars, and another is that by reason of the thinness of the rails,'and especially those employed on street railways, it is difficult to give the joint the same current carrying capacity as the conductor bonding the rails or as the rails themselves; that is to say, by reason of the thinness of the rails the area of contact between the good conducting metal of which the bond-conductor is formed and the rail is utterly insufficient to make the conducting capacity of a joint as great as that of the rest of the circuit. For example, if the bondshould be six times as great as the cross section of the bond-conductor. Obviously, where the the conductor is directly inserted through the web of the rail, it is impossible to attain such a great area of contact. By my invention these difficulties are both overcome. First I so mount the bondthat it is impossible for it to work loose however great the amount of vibration of the rail ends, and second I may setting the rail.

Serial No. 517,521. (No model.)

extent so as to compensate for the difierence of conductivity of the bond-conductor and rail. I

In carrying out my inventiOnI provide the rail ends with a metallic projection which I call a bondplate, the projection preferably I being made electrically integral with the rail itself by welding, forging, thickening, or up- If the bond-plate be made of a comparatively poor conducting material, such as iron or steel, its cross-section should be sufficiently great to present a carrying capacity approximately equal to that of the rail itself, and its surface of junction with the rail should be approximately equal to the cross I section of the rail; but if made of a betterconducting material, its body portion should be in area inversely proportional to the ratio of its conductivity to that of the rail. The same reasoning applied to the contact of the bondplate with the rail can be applied to the con- {tact of thebond-conductor with the bond bond-plate and the bond-conductor soldered,

welded or otherwise secured therein; or pro j ections on the bond-plate may be bent over the bond-conductors to assist the soldering operation and lock the conductor in place. I

prefer to form in the bond-plate one or more holes preferably inclined somewhat from a vertical in a plane at right angles to the rail so that a reaming tool may pass the head of the rail and clean theholes preparatory to the establishment of a joint.

In these holes are placed the bond-conductors, which are inserted from beneath, and are provided with a flange or made wedge shaped, so that the melted solder will not run through at the bot-. tom when poured around the joint. The end of the conductor is so arranged that when inabove the bond-plate, so that after the soldering operation is completed, its upper end projecting above the level of the bond-plate may serted in a hole it will project a short distance be struck a blow with the hammer and headed V or upset so as to effectually prevent disconnec: tion in case the solder shouldfail during serj vice. I do not however restrict myself to the mode of securing the bond-conductorjust de-- scribed, as otherways of establishinga joint between it and the bond-plate may be employed, as will hereinafter be described.

My invention therefore consists of a bondplate for electric railway conductors electrically integral with the rail itself by being welded or forged thereto, or formed by thickening or upsetting the rail.

My invention also involves a bond-conductor or conductors secured to such a bondplate.

It also involves other features which will be more particularly hereinafter described, and will be definitely indicated in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings, which illustrate the invention, Figure 1 is a side elevation of a rail junction embodying my improvements. Fig. 2 is a cross-section of street railway rail, showing a bond constructed in accordance with my improvements; and Fig. 3 is an elevation of a bond-conductor, one end of which is provided with a flange at the bottom of the pin or terminal by which the joint is made, the other end of which is provided with a tapering pin for accomplishing the same result.

A represents a rail joint, the rail ends being maintained in position by fixed plates, as

indicated, in the ordinary manner. Near the end of the rail I provide a metallic projection B which I term a bond-plate. This projection is made electrically integral with the body of the rail. It may'be constructed of any suitable material. It made of iron or steel its cross-section should be approxi-' of junction with the rail body should be such that it will have a current-carrying capacity equal to that of the rail. If made of a better conducting metal, such as brass, its body portion'may be made considerably less in crosssection, but its junction area with the rail body should be as near as practicable to the cross-section of the rail, so that the conductivity of the joint may approach that of the ral trically or be forged to the body of the rail, or may be otherwise connected thereto so as to become electrically integral therewith. The bond-plate is preferably inclined or given a slight horizontal dip and is provided with one or a plurality, as may be desired, of holes for the reception of the bond-conductors; or, if the bond-plate be placed in a horizontal plane, the holes themselves should incline away from the vertical so that when the bondconductor is to be put in place they may readily be reamed out or cleaned'to facilitate the soldering operation. The bond-conductor or conductors G will be made of copper or other good conducting material and are provided The bond-plate may be welded elecat the ends with a bend which may be substantially a right angle when used in connection with high rails, the terminals D or D being shaped to fit in the holes in the bondplates. When the bond-plate is attached to low or T-rails the ends of the conductor 0 may be inclined at an angle acute at one side and obtuse at the other, as indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 3. This slope will permit the bond-conductor to be inserted from the bottom although the bond-plate is attached to a low rail. In such a case the holes in the bondplate will be made at an angle with a plane transverse to the rail length. The terminals D, D may be cylindrical as shown at the left of Fig. 3 and provided with a shelf or flange to stop the bottom of the hole and prevent leakjoint; orin lieu of this the terminal may be tapered as shown at D so that it may be wedged in the bottom of the hole and accomplish the same result. The terminal should be of suf ficient length to project above the upper face of the bond-plate when pressed home; and after the solder hardens or cools the upper end may be struck one or more blows with a hammer and upset, thus firmly locking the bond-conductor to the bond-plate and efiectually preventing it working loose even if the solder should give way or fuse under heat.

In Fig. 1 I have shown two bond-conductors, by way of example, though of course it will be understood that more than two may be employed, if desired. In determining the area of the joints between the bond-plate and rail,

or between the bond-conductor and the bond- I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. A rail bond for electric railways comprising a bond plate electrically connected with the rail provided with upwardly extending holes to facilitate connection with the bond conductor.

- 2. A rail bond for electric railways compris-- ing a bond plate electrically connected with the rail and provided with holes to facilitate connection with the bond conductor, said holes inclining outwardly and upwardly, for the purpose described.

3. A rail provided at or near its end with a metallic projection-or bond-plate forming-an integral part of the rail.

4:. A rail provided with a bond plate elecbond conductor from beneath, and bond con 526,142 a p a ductors adapted to stop the bottom of the In testimony whereof I have hereunto subperforation to prevent leakage during solderscribed my name this 13th day of July, A.D [0

ing. l V 1894:. a

6. A rail bond comprising a perforated r v 5 bond plate connected with the rail, extend DWIGHP BOOK ing outwardly therefrom, and having a bond Witnesses: conductor extending through the perforations E. O. GRIGG, and upset at its end. ROBT H. READ. 

